Op Shop Santa

Not many sleeps now until the Jolly Fat man in Red comes to visit us in the middle of the night. Those of you who visit here at The Backshed know that my children are grown up and have all moved on to start their adult lives. In our house the main present is under the tree from us and  there are just little bits and pieces they find in the pillow slip at the end of their bed every Christmas morning from Santa..  I decided this year that enough was enough, too much money was being spent at Christmas and Santa was retiring in our house. Well, the children were not very happy with this proclamation at all
I decided that if Santa was still going to be a visitor here then he was going to find all his presents at the Op Shop.

It was so much fun hunting around the local op shop for presents for Santa to bring. I managed to get fun things and practical things for all four of my apparently not so grown up adult children and it came to the grand total of  $16.00. They are going to get more than Santa usually brings and some are much more expensive items than they would get any other year.
So this begins a new tradition in our house and I got a lot more enjoyment fossicking in the op shop than I would get wandering in the shops trying and generally not succeeding to find inexpensive gifts.
I wasn't going to make a pecan candy cake either but apparently that is also a tradition that I am not allowed to discard. Before you think I am totally ruled by my children's wishes (which I probably am) I have to tell you that this year there will be no Roast turkey lunch with the baked vegies. Cold meats and some different salads are the go this year but there will still be cheesecakes and fruit salad for dessert. So if money is a little tight this Christmas, don't disregard the hidden treasure you can find in the Op shop down the road.
(There will be photos AFTER Christmas so I don't ruin the surprise)